The Mike Haddad Show: This is relevant to my interests.

The Canadian Press is reporting that Ontario is placing recycling fees on electronics to help establish a recycling system for electronics, much like in provinces such as Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan. And, like always, people are complaining.

Although the fees will be charged to manufacturers, there's no indication whether companies will absorb the fee as a cost of doing business or pass it on to consumers.

Eleanor Friedland of the Consumers Council of Canada said she fully expects the majority of companies will add the fee to the final cost of their products.

"I think the cost will be definitely forwarded on to the consumer," she said. "All additional costs eventually get passed on to the consumers."

Ont. joining Alta., B.C., N.S. and Sask. in putting recycling fee on electronics - The Canadian Press

Pardon my French, but ah-duuuh. This woman must not have taken even a first year economics class. The fee, which is a tax, will be passed along to between firm and consumer. Isn't that how it works? Now, as for the whole fee being passed along to the consumer, the only case I can think of off the top of my head (and that's not many considering how fried my brain is right now) is the case where the consumer has a completely inelastic demand curve. Demand for something like televisions sets, or especially cellphones, might be pretty inelastic relative to other goods, but they're not food, or gas. So it will be interesting to see how this happens.

Of course, given the market power of most firms consumers might end up paying for the whole fee anyway. In the end, it's my position that they should be paying for it anyway. So you won't hear me complaining.